Engineering Innovation Podcast and Radio Series

Calculating Cancer Cures

Anchor Lead: There’s a new weapon in the fight against ovarian cancer…math.

Randy Atkins: Using massive databases with genetic information about cells of ovarian cancer patients, Orly Alter, a bioengineer at the University of Utah, says she’s found a way to determine in advance how well a patient will respond to the standard medications.

Orly Alter: Our mathematics…enabled us to discover variations in the biochemistry of the tumors that correlate with the patient outcome.

Randy Atkins: It may lead to test that can, for the first time, both predict treatment effectiveness and offer a prognosis. Alter says the new mathematical technique has also uncovered potential new targets for drugs, so...

Orly Alter: …maybe a combination of those drugs that already exist might be relevant for ovarian cancer.